AJ Powell MUA wrote:
Hi lovely people, just want your thoughts on what you would consider to be the best brand of MUA brushes

AJ best is always subjective depending on the agenda of the source... Makeup artists tend sometimes to become true believers in the "brand" they have been using for a lengthy period...  same with photographers who become married to their vendor's equipment...

Best advice I can share is for you to become keenly aware of the materials used in the various makeup brushes and why they have evolved over time to become the de facto standards...

To this end you need to appreciate that there are several basic products used to enhance the face... that being powder, cream and liquid... Your brush selection for the later products will differ owing to the viscosity of the product which effects it's slip and glide on the skin...  That said, Taklon (a synthetic fiber material) is preferred for heavy creams a.k.a. concealers, foundations and the like... It is sometimes mixed with natural bristles in duo fiber combo which are used for applying cream blush, bronzer and eye decor... 

Many emerging artist shy aware from cream based product... a sad mistake in my humble estimation... while cream product requires it bit more tenure to master it is far superior to powder product in many, many scenarios... learn creams they are amazing for blush, bronzer and eye decor...

Ok, most new artist work primarily with powders which has the shortest learning curve to start with... albeit blending powders with out a trace of gradient is a demanding art form... For powders Sable is King... it rules... no other natural bristle even comes close... it picks up powder evenly from a cake source without breaking it, holds considerable volume and blends amazingly well on the skin... Sable is soft, very soft to the touch... ideal for the sensitive eye area... and best of all it lends itself to being shaped, feathers precisely to configurations ideal for various parts/zones of the face... 

Is there a down side to Sable? Yes it is very expensive... Is it worth the price? Absolutely... once you've used fine Sable brushes you'll never look back... btw, if you have the resources kolinsky sable brushes have been used by artist in all mediums for well over a hundred years... it has no equal... 

Other natural bristles include Goat used on large powder brushes... Squirrel which is actually softer than sable but way too flexible thus is used for applying loose powder
rather than cake product like Sable...  Italian Badger is ofter used in as it also is very soft and like Squirrel is used for loose powder product... Boar is thick and rather durable and if oft mixed with Badger to give it rigidity... think brow brush here...

Would be wise to stay within each fiber family for specific product... you'll likely damage fine sable applying heavy creams with it... and likewise using Boar on the sensitive eye area is not appropriate... learn which fiber works where, k?

Also you need to get your head around how brushes are constructed so you are better able to judge quality and more importantly care for your tools...

Handles run the gambit... wood is common but is being replaced by more cost effective plastics... the important part is the joint where the ferrule meets the handle... Ferrules are metal... oft plated with other metals... a.k.a. chrome, copper, silver, gold... it is imperative that you not immerse the ferrules in water, cleaner etc for prolonged periods... doing so with weaken the brush in short order... the bristles are glued into place... water and brush cleaner is not kind to this glue... countless artist I've collaborated with complain that their brushes, once great are now shedding... This AJ is not a failing brush but the result of a clueless artist who doesn't understand the care and maintenance of fine brushes...  Yes very cheap brushes will likely take far less abuse but with diligent care will last... Case in point I still use my student badger brushes which are now nearly a decade old... and have been cleaned (with care) hundreds and hundreds of times...

Speaking of which... if you don't want to invest the time to learn and understand brushes, their components and construction then I would recommend a "Student" grade set of badger brushes... Look to Crown here...  Sigma also is a major vendor of merit... 

Important Note: At this juncture it is unwise to purchase brushes from any source other than the actual manufacturer unless you know the independent vendor such as Mary's CRC... there are possibly more counterfeit brushes for sale now then actual "real" ones... perfect case in point are MAC brushes... while MAC has always made outstanding brushes there is no way I would show up on set with MAC brushes since many folks would assume they a fakes... sad but true...

Hope this helps...